Sec. 247. Damage to religious property; obstruction of persons in
the free exercise of religious beliefs

STATUTE

(a) Whoever, in any of the circumstances referred to in
subsection (b) of this section -
(1) intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any religious
real property, because of the religious character of that
property, or attempts to do so; or
(2) intentionally obstructs, by force or threat of force, any
person in the enjoyment of that person's free exercise of
religious beliefs, or attempts to do so;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (d).
(b) The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the
offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce.
(c) Whoever intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any
religious real property because of the race, color, or ethnic
characteristics of any individual associated with that religious
property, or attempts to do so, shall be punished as provided in
subsection (d).
(d) The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) of this
section shall be -
(1) if death results from acts committed in violation of this
section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to
kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit
aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, a fine in
accordance with this title and imprisonment for any term of years
or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death;
(2) if bodily injury results to any person, including any
public safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate
result of conduct prohibited by this section, and the violation
is by means of fire or an explosive, a fine under this title or
imprisonment for not more that 40 years, or both;
(3) if bodily injury to any person, including any public safety
officer performing duties as a direct or proximate result of
conduct prohibited by this section, results from the acts
committed in violation of this section or if such acts include
the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon,
explosives, or fire, a fine in accordance with this title and
imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both; and
(4) in any other case, a fine in accordance with this title and
imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
(e) No prosecution of any offense described in this section shall
be undertaken by the United States except upon the certification in
writing of the Attorney General or his designee that in his
judgment a prosecution by the United States is in the public
interest and necessary to secure substantial justice.
(f) As used in this section, the term "religious real property"
means any church, synagogue, mosque, religious cemetery, or other
religious real property, including fixtures or religious objects
contained within a place of religious worship.
(g) No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any
noncapital offense under this section unless the indictment is
found or the information is instituted not later than 7 years after
the date on which the offense was committed.